Till The World Ends
"Till the World Ends" is a song by American recording artist Britney Spears, released as the second single from her seventh studio album, Femme Fatale. It was written and produced by Dr. Luke and Max Martin, with additional writing by Kesha and Alexander Kronlund, and additional production by Billboard. Kesha explained that her main inspiration for the song was imagining Spears and any other female musicians touring the world. On March 2, 2011, the single's cover art and a snippet of the song surfaced online. "Till the World Ends" leaked online on March 3, 2011, and was released the following day. "Till the World Ends" is composed as an uptempo dance-pop and electropop song with an electro beat. It opens with sirens, and has elements of trance and Eurodance. The song features a chant-like chorus, and lyrics in which Spears sings about dancing until the end of the world. "Till the World Ends" received comparisons to past hits by artists such as Kesha and Enrique Iglesias. The song received universal critical acclaim, with critics calling it a catchy dance track and complimenting its anthemic nature. The song was treated with different remixes, most notably the Femme Fatale Remix, featuring rapper Nicki Minaj and Kesha, which was released on April 25, 2011. The remix adds a rap by Minaj at the beginning, new vocals by Kesha and a dubstep breakdown. The Femme Fatale Remix received positive reviews from critics, with most complimenting the diversity of the group and Minaj's rap. "Till the World Ends" charted on the top-ten in several major music markets, including Australia, France, Ireland, New Zealand, Sweden and Switzerland. The Femme Fatale Remix propelled the single to the top five on the Canadian Hot 100 and the US [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Billboard_Hot_100 Billboard Hot 100]. However, "Till the World Ends" became her second lowest peaking single in the United Kingdom. "Till the World Ends (Twister Remix)" was released as a digital single on September 18, 2012 on iTunes by RCA Records. An accompanying music video for the song was released on April 6, 2011. It portrays Spears in an underground dance party set on December 21, 2012. Critics noted the similarities with the music video for "I'm a Slave 4 U" (2001), and predominantly gave positive reviews for it. A choreography cut was released on April 15, 2011. The video was also nominated for two categories at the 2011 MTV Video Music Awards, and went on to win Best Pop Video. Spears has performed "Till the World Ends" on television shows Good Morning America and Jimmy Kimmel Live!, and performed it with Minaj at the [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2011_Billboard_Music_Awards 2011 Billboard Music Awards]. She has also performed the song as the encore of the Femme Fatale Tour (2011). Background "Till the World Ends" was written and produced by Dr. Luke and Max Martin, with additional writing by American recording artist Kesha and Alexander Kronlund, and additional production by Billboard. In an interview for Spin on February 11, 2011, Kesha announced she had co-written the song with Luke and Martin for Femme Fatale. She explained it was inspired by "me imagining Spears and any female musician touring the world. When you go out, and you're having an amazing, magical night and you don't want to go to sleep and you want it to last until the world ends." On March 2, 2011, the single's cover art, in which Spears appears sitting on a couch in a sweater and heels, was posted at Deezer.com. This was followed by a 30-second snippet of the song, which appeared at Amazon.de. "Till the World Ends" leaked online on March 3, 2011, which prompted Spears to post hours later on her Twitter account, "Looks like the cat's out of the bag..." She formally premiered the single at On Air with Ryan Seacrest, on March 4, 2011, at 10:00 EST (15:00 UTC). "Till the World Ends" was made available on iTunes the same day, several days earlier than originally planned.[8] Following the announcement, Kesha spoke to MTV News stating that "I consider myself a songwriter before and above everything else, so it's an honor to write for one of pop music's biggest icons." During an interview with Seacrest, Spears described "Till the World Ends" as "fun. I like it. It's good energy. ... I'm a vibe person, and I think I love good-mood songs, and if it puts me in a good mood, it clicks for me." Composition Critical Reception Remixes A Bollywood version of the song was done by Indian music producer duo Salim and Sulaiman Merchant, and released on DesiHits.com, a website for South Asian music and entertainment news. The remix features a Punjabi breakdown with South Asian sounding vocals and includes some added Desi flavors courtesy of dholki, dhol and tumbi beats, which are common instruments in South Asian music. Baba Kahn of the production team Culture Shock stated, "Our goal was to take Britney's smash hit single and give fans a total Desi adrenaline rush. The result is a Culture Shock musical Desi roller coaster that hopefully everyone around the world will want to join." Mark Flaherty, senior vice president of Jive Label Group, said about the remix: "We wanted to build an even greater connection between the world's biggest pop star and one of the world's largest audiences. Britney has been engaged with South Asian culture for many years. From the groundbreaking Bollywood-inspired remix of 'Me Against the Music' to her recent collaboration with Indian fashion designers Falguni and Shane Peacock on the 'Hold It Against Me' video, she has embraced the incredible sights and sounds of this vibrant community throughout her career." Michigan band Salem released a slowed-down version of the song, and made a music video featuring seemingly underage strippers and military footage. A remix featuring R. Kelly was leaked online on July 4, 2011. It features him singing the second verse, "Slide up in this club / This beat's got me in love / Till I just don't care / It's like I'm walking on air / It's a party right here", and a new hook, where he repeats the line "Party till the world ends". His vocals join those of Spears during the breakdown, and the song ends with Kelly doing runs over the chorus. A reporter from Idolator said, "We'd much rather listen to Britney's original than this uninspired remix when doomsday comes." A remixed version of "Till the World Ends", featuring Kesha and rapper Nicki Minaj, was leaked online on April 22, 2011. The same day, three countdowns with lines of the song appeared on the official websites of Spears, Kesha and Minaj. The Femme Fatale Remix was released on iTunes on April 25, 2011. The same day, Spears uploaded a picture of the cover art to her Twitter account. Kesha told MTV News, "I'm a massive fan of both the ladies I share the track with. I wrote 'TTWE' for Britney ... and she killed it and I loved it, but I just thought a supergroup of three hot, strong women could just take over the airwaves." The remix adds heavier bass during the beginning, and starts with Minaj rapping with intensity about a female hater, in lines such as "Told you they'd revive your career, but somebody lied/ I ain't talkin' poultry when I say this chicken's fried." This continues by Spears singing the first verse, after which Minaj says "It's Britney, bitch. I'm Nicki Minaj and that's Kesha!", and the first chorus is sung by the latter. Spears continues with the song and is accompanied by Kesha towards the end of the second verse and the bridge. The remix also features a dubstep breakdown, reminiscent of "Hold It Against Me". Tina Hart of MSN UK stated that "Minaj maintains her ‘badass’ demeanour. Britney’s familiar tones greet you on the verse and Kesha sounds perfectly at home on the chorus." Wesley Case of The Baltimore Sun stated that while Spears sounds processed, "Minaj's larger-than-life performance matches the in-the-red party production" and Kesha "adds an extra layer of dirt-under-the-nails sheen." He summarized his review by saying that the remix "is the perfect example of pop's current love affair with Euro dance and add-it-all-to-the-pot rules." Jordan Zakarin of The Huffington Post commented the track "has enough star power to dwarf our own sun" and added that it "puts enough of a spin on the original version to make it worth a spin on its own." Samesame.com.au stated that Minaj's rap was "fantastic", and that although Kesha's verse was "a little strange", it also "works, but ... further emphasises what a poor choice for single Till The World Ends was in the first place, as the song sounds even more like a B-side to Ke$ha’s Cannibal EP." Maura Johnston of The Village Voice highlighted the breakdown and Minaj "who seems particularly energized here, stretching and bending her voice like it's a Plasticman doll." Kyle Anderson of Entertainment Weekly said that "like most remixes, we’ll stick with the original". Anderson also stated that Kesha's contribution is "generally ignorable" and that Minaj's rap does not flow well with the rest of the song. Pitchfork Media included the Femme Fatale Remix in their Top 100 Tracks of 2011 list, writing: "'Till the World Ends' was already the best Britney single since 'Toxic', an ecstatic Euroclub floor-filler about wanting to dance until the world ends and other important matters. Then they added the Nicki Minaj verse. In her 45-second evisceration, Nicki manages to squeeze in chicken noises and the words 'poultry', 'Epsom salt', and 'Ricki Lake'-- not to mention the immortal diss 'Sniff, sniff, criiiies/ I done slayed your entire fucking liiiiife.' (Fact: In 2011, pretty much any song in the world could be made infinitely better by the addition of a Nicki Minaj verse.) Sprinkle a little bit of Ke$ha, the song's co-writer, on the chorus, and you've got a three-headed diva Hydra that sums up the recent changing of the femme pop guard from airbrushed and perfect to (relatively) weird and chaotic. It's the year's greatest quickie cash-in remix created to boost the chart position of a floundering single. Considering the ubiquity of the practice, that's saying something." Lyrics (Remix) Chart Performance Music Video 'Development' The music video for "Till the World Ends" was directed by Ray Kay and filmed inside a basement in Los Angeles, California. On March 17, 2011, Spears posted on her Twitter account, "Day 1 of the #TTWE Videoshoot. Just wrapped my first big dance number. Taking a well deserved break people!" She also tweeted a picture of her on set, wearing ripped tights, a Burberry Prorsum studded leather jacket and matching fingerless leather gloves. The making-of was chronicled on the special Britney Spears: I Am the Femme Fatale, which aired on MTV on April 3, 2011, at 21:00 EST (02:00 UTC). In the special, Spears is seen watching the playback, as she later explained, "is just to make sure it's right and that the costume looks right and the dancers are together and we all look in unison. It's an energy and it looks fresh. It has a certain vibe with it and it makes sense." She also went on to describe the set as "grimy and gross ... It was sweat and it was disgusting sometimes". At a point in the shoot, Spears changed her heels to Ugg boots during the shots that did not show her feet, stating that "in heels hurts ... but it looks good. It wasn't a full-length shot, so a girl's about comfort when it's not showing." "Till the World Ends" is nearly the 40th music video Spears made in her career. Spears said that she did not feel the need to top herself, saying that "I've made so many videos that I'm at the point that I genuinely want to enjoy myself, and I have such a good team of people with me. ... I had never worked with Ray Kay before. I was really happy with the work we did." The video was choreographed by Brian Friedman. On April 4, 2011, it was announced that two different versions of the music video would be released, a director's cut and a choreography cut. The same day, Spears tweeted a 30-second preview of the video, announcing, "#TillTheWorldEnds video premieres THIS Wednesday on VEVO. Cant wait to share it with you guys!" 'Director's cut' The video begins with the words "December 21st, 2012" flashing on screen, the day that refers to the fulfillment of the Great Cycle, Baktun in the Mayan calendar (mostly spread civilization in Guatemala). While Spears appears strutting in an underground party wearing a studded leather jacket and stockings. Several people are seen running to a manhole and enter the sewer system to arrive to the party. This is followed by a dance routine in which Spears is wearing a sequined bodysuit and a small jacket with shoulder pads accompanied by female dancers. During the video, there are scenes of buildings burning and debris falling, as well as intercut scenes of Spears in front of an illuminated background. As the second verse begins, she dances provocatively with her male dancers. In the last chorus, the sun rises while water is sprayed through the dance floor and the earthquake and meteor shower subside. The video ends with Spears coming out of a manhole wearing the red bodysuit and smiling. The director's cut premiered on April 6, 2011 at 03:00 EST (08:00 UTC). Kevin O'Donnell of Spin compared the "Till the World Ends" video to "I'm Slave 4 U" and added that it takes elements of classic Spears videos, such as "scantily-clad dancers, tightly executed choreography, ridonkulously sequined outfits, and pouty, overly sincere close-ups of Spears" and "places them in an apocalyptic, end-of-days scenario." Jocelyn Vena of MTV also highlighted the comparisons to "I'm a Slave 4 U", explaining that "the director's cut of the video is a sexy mash-up of Spears doing what she does best: groping half-naked guys, giving the camera bedroom eyes and being sassy in a number of leather jackets and skintight bodysuits." Chris Gayomali of Time stated that the video "is sweaty, at times blinding, yet undeniably enjoyable, adopting many of its key elements from Britney's coming-of-age 'I'm a Slave 4 U.'" Matthew Perpetua of Rolling Stone called it "a good, memorable video." Tanner Stransky of Entertainment Weekly said it "is exactly what you’d expect for this song, and from Britney at this point in her career", and also complimented Spears for getting rid of the product placement in the "Hold It Against Me" video. Wesley Case of The Baltimore Sun stated that video "is typical 2011 party-starter — sweaty bodies, futuristic DJ-gear, well-timed faulty sprinkler system — but it captures the track's raging mood perfectly." Gina Serpe of E! Online also compared the video to "I'm a Slave 4 U", saying, "There's nothing wrong with a little nod to vintage Britney. Plus, sweaty dancers in underground tunnels pulsing and writhing in sync to the music? Seems like as good a way as any to survive the apocalypse." Willa Paskin of New York commented that Spears "tries hard not to make the same mistakes as the inadvertently depressing 'Hold It Against Me.' There's more dancing — though it's still largely arm-related — and much, much more smiling." The music video was nominated at the 2011 MuchMusic Video Awards in the category of International Video of the Year — Artist, but lost to Lady Gaga's "Judas". It also received two nominations at the 2011 MTV Video Music Awards in the categories of Best Pop Video and Best Choreography. Spears told MTV News she was "completely flattered" by the nominations. She lost Best Choreography to Beyoncé's "Run the World (Girls)", but won Best Pop Video. 'Choreography cut' The video is similar to the director's cut, but has a few differences. The choreography cut offers lengthier shots of Spears and her dancers, and much of the apocalypse storyline is edited out. The clip's ending is also different from the original: instead of emerging from the manhole Spears just looks into the camera, apparently still hiding in the underground party and hinting at a darker ending in which the world does end. On April 9, 2011, Spears tweeted that she had seen the final cut of the dance version, and was not sure which one she liked best. Ray Kay tweeted on April 14, 2011, that the original version of the video was better, "but it's fun to watch the choreography too." The video, titled "DANCE Till the World Ends" premiered on April 15, 2011. Leah Collins of Dose commented, "sorry, Team Britney, but if any of you were hoping to pass off Spears’ anemic performance in the original as the result of unfortunate editing, this clip isn’t exactly going to bring anyone back on side." 'Twister Remix' An accompanying music video for the Twister Remix of "Till the World Ends" was also directed by Ray Kay, and released on September 8, 2012. For the music video, Spears sported a $20,000 sports bra and black leggins from Body Rock. It begins with four girls talking and resting in a dance studio. Once Spears enters the room and starts playing Twister with the girls, the scenario changes to a stage with a colorful background, and they all start performing a dance routine to a remix of the song. After the song stops and the four girls are seen laying down tired, Spears turns around to them and say, "Way to rock the spots, ladies." Lyrics Live Performances and Cover Versions Spears first performed "Till the World Ends" at Rain Nightclub in the Palms Casino Resort on March 25, 2011. After performances of "Hold It Against Me" and "Big Fat Bass", Spears appeared wearing a black latex bodysuit covered in red lights and surrounded by her dancers, while the stage was filled with ladders and LED lighting. At the end, she ascended the ladders and ended up on a platform, gyrating from above the room. As fireworks lit the stage, Spears danced and tossed her hair as the song closed. She also taped performances of "Hold It Against Me", "Big Fat Bass" and "Till the World Ends" at the Bill Graham Civic Auditorium on March 27, 2011, that aired on Good Morning America on March 29, 2011.[93] The same day, Spears performed the set on Jimmy Kimmel Live!. On May 22, 2011, she briefly performed the song at the [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2011_Billboard_Music_Awards 2011 Billboard Music Awards] in the MGM Grand Garden Arena. After Minaj performed "Super Bass", she started to sing the rap verse of The Femme Fatale Remix. Spears emerged onstage for the chorus and performed alongside Minaj and her back up dancers while walking to a minor stage. Spears also performed "Till the World Ends" at the Femme Fatale Tour (2011). At the end of "Toxic", she goes below the stage and returns wearing a black sparkly bodysuit for "Till the World Ends". Halfway through the performance, Minaj appears on the backdrops rapping her verse of The Femme Fatale Remix of the song. She also joined Spears to perform the verse in select cities. After the song changes back to the original version, Spears starts flying in a platform with giant angel wings. The show ends with Spears and her dancers thanking the audience, as confetti falls and the "Femme Fatale" sign is lowered onstage. Jason L. Nelson of The Beaver County Times said that "encore hits 'Toxic' and 'Till the World Ends' kept the crowd beaming." American recording artist Kelly Clarkson covered the song during her Stronger Tour in 2012. During the Pink Friday Tour, Nicki Minaj included "Till the World Ends" as an interlude.[99] Miranda Cosgrove covered the song in her Dancing Crazy Tour in a pop Medley. Track Listings Charts and Personnal Credits adapted from Till the World Ends' liner notes. Category:Songs written by Ke$ha